Some South Indian movie stars under investigation for sex crimes: Police

Ashraf Padanna, Correspondent / Agencies

Several prominent film actors and directors are the focus of a police investigation into sexual assault and harassment in India's southern state of Kerala, a case that has added to the outrage in the country over violence against women.

The allegations come at a time when doctors in many parts of the country are protesting against the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in the eastern city of Kolkata, leading to strikes in several hospitals and anger on social media.

The investigation in Kerala began when police received complaints from female actors accusing male colleagues of sexual harassment and abuse. The accusations came a week after a government-appointed panel detailed instances of sexual harassment and discrimination in the Malayalam language film industry, based in Kerala, in the past.

Police have filed nine complaints against several members of Kerala's popular film industry, including a director and veteran actors, Kerala's south zone police inspector-general, Sparjan Kumar, told Reuters.

"We have so far received 16 complaints from women in the film industry. We are examining all the complaints and taking follow-up action," Kumar, who heads a seven-member special police team probing the allegations, said.

Earlier, Kerala police have booked film star and ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) actor-legislator M Mukesh on charges of raping an aspiring female actor. Though several actors have come out with similar charges against him, she only came forward to file a police complaint saying he sexually assaulted her a few years ago.

A day after former actress Minu Muneer levelled grave allegations of sexual harassment against him, Mukesh denied the charges and welcomed a probe into them.

Mukesh, who is among the half a dozen top film personalities in the dock as a flood of allegations surfaced against them since the explosive Hema Committee report on the working conditions of women in the Kerala film industry was finally released on Monday last week, said: "I deny what she has said and this is nothing but blackmail against me by her. I welcome a probe into this."

"It was in 2009 that she (then Minu Kurian) came to meet me seeking chances in films. We had a talk and she left. Later she expressed her happiness that I behaved with her well. Then she surfaced in 2022 as Minu Muneer and was in a threatening mode, demanding Rs100,000," he said in a statement.

The police had earlier booked famous director Ranjith and actor Siddique on similar charges raised by female actors. The rape allegations against influential people have shaken the entire Malayalam film industry following the publication of Justice K Hema Committee report partially. The state government was forced to release the study report on the status of women in the industry after four years, redacting portions with personal references, on a judicial order. On Sunday, Siddique resigned as the general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), and soon after, Ranjith quit as the chair of the Kerala Film Academy. On Tuesday, the entire executive committee of AMMA, including its president, superstar Mohanlal, quit, ignoring the dissenting voices of at least three members.

India's southern states, including Kerala, have vibrant local language film industries, separate from the Hindi language Bollywood, and patronised by many locals.

Bollywood, as well as local language film industries have been shaken by similar allegations of sexual assault and harassment in the past, but little action has been taken.